In Berlin the
physical deconstruction of the former parliament building of the GDR,
the “Palast der Republik” is underway. In this example a
long debate about memory has come to its material end, however the
questions over the relationship between city and memory
linger. How are memories constructed, embedded or deleted
in the city? Why and how are some preserved at high cost while
others are sacrificed with nary a backward glance?

Lest a city wants to become a
ghost town or an open-air museum, history will constantly be layered,
merged and replaced by new memories and stories. Just as the
relationship between the political , economic and the existing
geography is in constant flux, so too are we – our lifestyles and
our stories transformed. But when does intentional forgetting
develop into something close to amnesia and becomes detrimental? Is the
re-engineering of Chinese cities for example, happening at a speed,
that it outpaces the city’s ability to fill the new scape with
memories and meaning?

The construction of memories in
cities can be a highly contested and intensely political process. The
Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the history and meaning of the land
is also battled out in dozens of cities and villages. Similarly
settlements on the borders of many nation states have undergone
repeated shifts of political identity. How does size and scale
enter the issue? How do the stories of small, unknown places differ
from those of world-cities that can more obviously connect their image
to that in a globalized world? Or on a very concrete level, what does
it mean for the spirit of a neighborhood when a restaurant that carries
the memories of a generation has to close as tastes change? Who will
mourn its loss?

To these and other issues in
the field of memory, forgetting and amnesia in cities, we are looking
for contributions. Photos, documentations or fiction, opinions or
theoretical approaches are all welcome. Please send inquires or
proposals to editors@mudot.org.
The deadline for submissions will be February 2008.